


Have you ever danced with the Devil?

by SirRobin126



Category: Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies), Star Trek: The Original Series
Genre: Dancing, Drinking, M/M, Vulcan anatomy, ear touching, grumbling, jim being an adorable douche
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-12-27
Updated: 2013-12-27
Packaged: 2018-01-06 07:39:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,968
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1104182
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SirRobin126/pseuds/SirRobin126
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Well, with a pointy-eared Vulcan at least.</p><p>Leonard can be diplomatic when he's forced to be. He can find time out from his hectic grumbling, drinking and frowning schedule to occasionally force a chuckle or even say something. But even someone as diplomatic as himself can't stand being hounded by an arrogant, rude, pretty- uh petty Vulcan that for some reason won't leave him alone. There is absolutely, positively and without a doubt NOTHING that Leonard Mccoy enjoys about being in Spock's presence.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Have you ever danced with the Devil?

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you to Liv for doing the reading thing and being excited and encouraging about this.

For the crew of the Enterprise this was a relatively routine diplomatic mission.  
The landing party was organised and ready to go. They were gathered in the transporter room, lined up in the order they would beam down.  
The party had been organised on the basis of rank; to keep with the local customs of Teffrine. Teflars worked on procedure and tradition and the crew would have to behave accordingly.

As the senior officers, Kirk and Spock would beam down first, a few ensigns accompanying them.  
Next down was Lieutenant Uhura. As communications officer she would launch their translation packs, without which the meetings could not proceed.

For the life of him, Leonard couldn’t understand why Uhura came second. Those first two idiots would have no idea what they were doing if she weren’t there. He could just see them milling about uselessly; Jim smiling at everyone and chatting on regardless of his audience’s understanding, and Spock standing cold and still, sticking to procedure. Thinking about it, he probably loved it down there to be honest.  
After Uhura came Sulu, Scotty and Chekov with some other officers. The Teflars weren’t exactly known for their ability to work with machinery though, so he couldn’t see there’d be much for them to talk about.

And then came Leonard.  
Usually he didn’t have the time or the patience to beam down for purely diplomatic trips. This time, however, he had been ambushed and betrayed by those he had thought closest to him.  
Jim had been talking about the mission for days, dropping very unsubtle hints that Leonard should come. He could have ignored it, if it weren’t for Nurse Chapel. Thirty minutes before they reached Teffrine, Leonard had walked into the medical bay. He found Christine standing in the doorway with her arms crossed. His patient files were neatly organised on his desk and his office suspiciously clean.  
She sternly decreed that he needed time away from the medical bay to relax and stop thinking about work. And in response to his attempted rebuttal she added that all his patients were already taken care of.  
His usual excuse foiled, he was sent off to the landing party, despite his rather vehement explanation that in fact diplomatic missions were one of the least relaxing occasions in the known universes.

And he wasn’t stressed anyway. He was perfectly able to keep up with ship’s schedule _and_ landing party exploratory missions _and_ all his sick bay dutie- ow. A spike of pain shot through his head; the temporary effect of a three week headache. He stormed into the transporter room, pointedly ignoring his aching shoulders and the knots in his back. They had treacherously decided that the perfect time to make themselves known was when he was trying to deny their existence. Stress wasn’t a problem. After all, he wasn’t an old man yet.

And then there was Jim, bouncing around charismatically with his stupid youthful energy. Really, a man of his age still behaving like he was twenty; It wasn’t decent, or fair.  
All the officers were there. They were excitedly chatting and presumably going over the schedule. Leonard hadn’t been given a schedule after his ambush and there was no damn way he was going to grovel for one now. From what he could make out from his casual eavesdropping, there was a tight program of socialising and eating. Maybe he could just drop in for the second half; he wouldn’t mind a plate of un-synthesized food for once.

He was still unsure whether he was even going to go. He thought maybe he could even sneak off to engineering and spend the time Scotty was away looking for his stash. That was until Jim casually mentioned that despite their historic lack of conventional technology the Teflars had some of the most advanced medical processes in this galaxy.

That was enough to pique Leonard’s interest (even if he wouldn’t admit it) although he couldn’t be sure that Jim wasn’t just trying to get him off the ship. He was still half convinced that Jim was pulling his leg forty minutes later when he stepped into a pod.

Once he’d beamed down he moved quickly out of the way, lest some junior officer materialise on top of him.

At first glance the room seemed to be a huge cavern cut from dark rock. Closer inspection of the wall behind him revealed it instead to be some sort of intricately cut and expertly fitted wood.  
A movement near him caught his eye. He turned and jumped as he saw an old and very grumpy man glaring at him. It took him a few moments to realise that the old man in front of him was in fact his own reflection.  
Slightly startled he backed away to try and figure out what he was seeing.  
On this side of the room a shimmering surface stretched over the wall, reflecting the room like a mirror and making it seem twice its size.

Leonard averted his gaze quickly and went back to looking at the carved walls. He spent quite some time examining them; partly out of genuine interest, definitely _not_ partly because he was in anyway affected by his somewhat haggard appearance, but mostly because he’d just seen Jim. A gaggle surrounded him, occupying most of the centre of the room, and Leonard very much hoped to go unnoticed by them.

He was not in luck. Jim had probably spotted him the moment he’d beamed in. Now he was going to make it his business to rope him into conversation. He heard Jim’s voice carry across the room. He tried to ignore it but couldn’t help a groan when his best friend clearly failed to explain Leonard’s very recent (and rather prized) medical innovation.  
He knew it was a ploy but found himself charging over there anyway. He wasn’t going to let them stew in misinformation and Jim knew it. Once there however, his presence was rendered useless.

Commander Spock with his ridiculous Vulcan hearing had presumably also heard the captain’s error. With his stupid Vulcan speed however he’d reached Jim first. Leonard stood by uselessly as Spock corrected Jim matter-of-factly in front of the whole party.  
This insubordination was unlike Spock. He had to know he risked upsetting their prospective colleagues like that. It didn’t even really sound like Spock at all. In fact it sounded more like something Leonard himself would do. He was understandably frustrated at Spock’s interference, but placated himself with the knowledge that at least it hadn’t been him that jeopardised the mission (this time).

Jim also looked taken aback by Spock’s behaviour. He glanced anxiously at what Leonard could only guess was the most senior Teflar in the group. It was slightly worrying when they didn’t answer, but a collective sigh of relief was breathed when it turned out they just seemed to be having trouble with their translation pack. Almost instantly Uhura appeared, seemingly out of nowhere, to graciously help them fix it.  
Leonard raised his eyebrow at Jim, who frowned back.  
He quickly checked his expression to look slightly less merry. His eyes found Spock. Unsurprisingly Spock was standing still as stone, calmly looking on as if the scene did not concern him.  
The Teflar thanked Uhura as their translation pack came back online. Uhura smiled before returning to where a large group was eagerly awaiting her.  
Here it comes, thought Leonard, not at all gleefully.

“It is good to see that your culture, as ours, places importance on the sharing of knowledge between superiors and inferiors. A society is nothing if it does not build upon shared information.”  
The Teflar said joyfully. Well, at least Leonard took it as joyful.

The Teflars had a head covered in thick, wire-like coloured fibres. As such it was difficult to gauge emotion. The fibres were buzzing though and Leonard took that to be a physical expression of happiness.  
He’d have to look it up later. Having been ambushed, he hadn’t had time to brush up on Teflar anatomy.

He scowled at Spock. His expression hadn’t changed but somehow smugness seemed to radiate off of him. Of course he’d known that Teflars liked that sort of thing. Of course he had.  
And he couldn’t let anyone else take the praise. God forbid Leonard got to correct the captain the one time he couldn’t be scolded for it.

Feeling out of place in this rather too diplomatic group he slunk away. He felt a gaze on his back and made a point of not turning around. He diagnosed that his problem could be best solved with a hard drink, and he had to move quickly because self-satisfaction had almost burned a hole through his head.

Leonard craned his neck over the crowd, searching for an elusive red shirt. He spotted several in a group and he’d already started towards them before seeing that it was just a group of ensigns. They seemed to be trying to emphatically impress the Teflars and outdo each other with tales of daring space adventures.  
At last he spied what he was looking for and made his way over to the slightly tipsy Chief Engineer. Scotty was in the middle of a heated discussion about engineering with a Teflar. For one thing, they didn’t seem to be able to agree on the idea that engines were useful. As Leonard approached, a red-faced Scotty seemed to be about to draw him into the conversation. That was until he saw Leonard’s expression. Instead he simply raised his hand and with the glass he was holding, gestured to the side of the room right of Leonard. It was their wordless signal _you look like you need a drink, bar is over ther_ e.

Leonard fought through the mass of small talk to reach the bar. When he got there he slumped against the counter. He was so relieved to have avoided further interaction that he didn’t take the time to check his surroundings, nor his neighbours. The headache was forging deeper into his brain. Which was something not in the least alleviated when a cool, measured voice sounded from his left.

“I had predicted you would arrive here, doctor.”

Leonard winced. _Great this is all I need_. “Well good for you.”

“Do the Teflars displease you in some way? It is unlike you to avoid social interaction.”

He said it without a trace of sarcasm and Leonard could not help but turn to him, eyebrow raised.

“I can never tell when you’re trying to make a joke.”

“I had thought you would be more interested in Teflar care.”

“Well these guys don’t seem to need a lot of care, and if they do Jim’s doing a pretty good job of it already.”

He had purposely misunderstood Spock and they both knew it. Instead of addressing it they stood at the bar, Leonard leaning on it and Spock stock still and upright. They watched Jim as he demonstrated the Starfleet mandated lift technique on several giggling Teflars.  
The silence stretched on until Leonard had to speak again.

“I am interested in it, of course I am. I'm a damn doctor aren't I?” He said almost defensively, as though Spock had been attacking him. “I just...I hate these things.”

“To what things do you refer?”

“You know bloody well what I’m referring to. These diplomatic relations things. I just...I don’t do well with regulations and...procedure.”

“I could not have guessed.”

Once again there was no sarcasm evident but Leonard could not help another sideways glance. He even chuckled, which was a surprise to himself. Spock seemed to smile too, even though his face did not deviate from its still expression.

“If I didn’t know you better, Spock, I’d say you’d made another joke at my expense. I’ll bet this is just your kind of mission anyway, all those rules and guidelines and getting to be impressive to a whole new set of creatures.”

It was meant to be a jab at Spock’s ego and so Leonard was quite taken aback when Spock replied so bluntly.

“On the contrary, doctor, I find occasions such as this monotonous and often confusing.”

They quietened once more. Both of their eyes again found Jim who was now, presumably at someone’s request, juggling what seemed to be several root vegetables.  
Leonard ran through what had just happened. He was chatting with Spock. He’d said something about himself. Spock had done the same. Spock had even admitted what could be considered a weakness.  
And now what the hell was he supposed to do? He shot a furtive look at Spock. His expression was the same and there was no trace of him doing the same mental rundown of the conversation.  
He decided he had to follow up because hell, what else did he have going on?

“Confusing, Spock? I didn’t think that’d ever happened. Didn’t you read the file?”

Spock’s eyes were filled with reproach at the question and Leonard couldn’t help a small smile at the familiar look.

“I am well aware of all aspects of Teflar life, doctor. I have information on each of the regulations held by each circle of Teflar society. There are no gaps in my scientific knowledge of this subject.”

“So...?”

Spock considered his next words carefully.

“I find the unpredictable nature of actions from certain illogical and often irrational species to be confusing.”

Leonard had to hold in his laughter. An illogical species for Spock was everyone apart from the damn Vulcans. Spock had just taken what could have been seen as his own weakness and turned it into an almost universe wide insult. Of course he had.

“Like humans, for instance?”

“Precisely. You yourself are a prime example.”

“Coming from anyone else, Spock, I’d take that as a compliment.”

“That in itself is another example of your unpredictability.” Spock’s head cocked to the side slightly as it so often did when questioning.

“I am sure you can understand that a multitude of creatures that behave as you do would be, for me, unpleasant.”

“Oh tell me what you really feel, why don’t you?”

Leonard stared out at the crowd again, gaze avoiding Spock’s. His belly churned inexplicably at the words. It was just Spock, for Christ’s sake! He heard an insult from him every day. This was no time to develop a thin skin. He cursed his traitorous stomach as he saw Spock looking at him curiously.

“Doctor, I am sorry if I have caused offence. It was not my intention to do so. I was merely trying to engage in conversation at your own level.”

“Well, if that’s all, I guess that’s alright, then.”

“I appear to be causing further unintentional harm with my speech. The logical solution would be to remove myself.”

Leonard couldn’t believe it, Spock actually looked humble. He seemed to be waiting for a response. When he didn’t get it, his mouth twitched and he ever so slightly nodded to himself, as if that had been what he’d expected to happen.  
Well if that was what Spock expected, Leonard was damn sure he wasn’t going to give it to him.

“Spock, I...” He’d opened his mouth before thinking of something to say. Somehow this wasn’t an entirely unfamiliar action. He decided against revealing that to Spock, who’d probably crack a smile and hurt himself.

“It...it wasn’t, uh...terrible...talking to...um...you.”  
As the words were coming out of his mouth he regretted them. They were clumsy, which he hated being in front of Spock. They were lame and stupid, which he hated being in general. But the worst thing, was that they also weren’t entirely untrue.

“Thank you, doctor. I feel much the same.”  
And with that brief statement Spock turned away and melted back into the crowd.

Leonard was then left to his own devices and he toyed with the idea of beaming back to the ship. He discounted it quickly though. It wasn’t worth jeopardizing the mission just to get his sorry ass away from here. Grumpily, he leant against a wall and tried not to look approachable.

What on earth was the matter? This is what they did. He and Spock traded nasty comments and jibes and they both walked away with the job done. There was no reason to get his phaser in a twist because Spock said it was unpleasant being around him.  
It wasn’t even that big a deal anyway. He suffered bigger and more explicit insults every day, usually from Spock. This was tiny. And to be honest he wasn’t even sure it was meant to be an insult. Maybe that was the worst thing.  
Just then he spied Jim barrelling towards him, a Teflar on each arm.

Jim started talking and interrupted Leonard’s train of thought, an event that seemed to occur far too often. The conversation quickly turned to medicine as Jim introduced his friends as leading Teflar experts in the field. Leonard’s southern manners kicked in and he couldn’t help but be polite to Jim’s guests. Jim winked at him as Leonard found himself, against his wishes, enjoying the discussion.

After exactly two hours had passed, in what Leonard could only assume was designated socialising time, it was announced dance would start. This took Leonard a little by surprise. His reticence to ask for a schedule had now left him more than a little unprepared.  
He couldn’t help but feel that this was somehow Jim’s fault. He was planning to accuse Jim of omitting this rather important detail (obviously in a calm and reasonable manner) but this proved difficult as he saw Jim led away. One Teflar pulled Jim to the front of a line of dancers and another guided Leonard to a spot in the second line.  
He was placed next to Uhura, thank god. In answer to his questioning eyebrow she rolled her eyes before leaning over and muttering to him

“They’re separating us according to our rank and station. You’ll dance with whoever is opposite you.” He nodded his thanks as he looked around.  
Once the crowd had settled down, the Teflar at the head of the room said something indistinguishable to Leonard. Everyone else however seemed to understand clearly and a wave of people moved forward as Leonard was left wondering whether his hearing was really that shot.  
He was still pondering this as his partner moved in front of him. It took him a good few seconds to register a presence and another few to react.

“Doctor.”

“Spock.”

“Shall we dance?” Spock’s expression was unreadable as he delivered the question.

“Uh...yeah, well...um, we’d better, hadn’t we?” Leonard winced as he stumbled over his words, silently willing himself to be as un-phased as his stoic partner.  
Spock nodded and looked expectantly at the doctor.

“Well?” The rest of the room was already moving and Leonard was very conscious of the fact.  
“How do they dance in Teffrine?”  
He looked at other pairs, simply to observe and absolutely _not_ to avoid looking at his own partner. He saw Jim across the room enthusiastically dancing with a brightly coloured Teflar.

“I believe the Teflars revel in the expression of different cultures. It would perhaps be best for us to engage in an earth dance.”

“Right.”  
Leonard stepped forward and his hands immediately fell into a waltz hold. Unfortunately so did Spock’s. Spock had clearly been studying the dance and Leonard felt it would be unfair to force him to unlearn it now. Instead in a fleeting moment of generosity Leonard switched his hands. But as Spock grabbed his waist, instead of holding Spock’s shoulder as he’d planned he got a little flustered and put his hand on Spock’s waist, slightly higher than Spock’s on his own.

His arms weren’t used to the hold but quickly adapted. He’d been forced to attend many a dance as a young man and his body seemed to remember. It had not been an entirely pleasant experience at the time and especially now that he was so many years out of practise he did not particularly want to relive it. Every time he made a wrong step he winced and he could just hear Jocelyn and her friends giggling again.

Spock, however, seemed to be entirely blind to the rest of the room. His eyes were forward and his movements stiff. Leonard guessed dancing was not a common practise on Vulcan.  
Maybe if he’d just let Leonard lead they’d be okay but no...  
Despite Spock’s stiff movements he still seemed to hover slightly above the ground as he took only the lightest of steps. His hands too, were pressed very lightly against Leonard. After the initial shock of Spock grabbing his waist he'd realised that there was actually very little contact between them, as if Spock didn’t like the idea of touching him.  
Leonard tightened his hand on Spock’s torso (most likely not in spite) and started to dance with a little more force than was quite proper.

There was something off about this exchange though. Spock seemed fine enough to look at but Leonard could sense an inner tension.  
For awhile he assumed it was simply because Spock was dancing with such an illogical and irrational being. That was until he shifted his palm and realised that under Spock’s dress shirt he could feel his heart beating.

Of course. That was just great. Of anywhere he could have puts his hands on the Vulcan.  
He tried to ignore it out of courtesy but became a little concerned when he noticed it was beating a little too fast, even for a Vulcan. At first he thought maybe it was a medical condition. He was about to tell Spock but something made him hesitate.  
He closed his mouth and kept dancing, listening to the heart beat under his palm. But when Leonard unexpectedly pressed closer to change their direction the Vulcan heart pounded harder. In fact every time the pair’s proximity closed Spock’s heart would go mad.

He knew he should tell Spock. There was something that seemed extremely private about a Vulcan’s involuntary reactions. This was definitely an invasion of that privacy and he felt a little ashamed that it had taken him this long to come forward. He put that thought quickly aside. He was going to tell him.

Alright, but how to let Spock know without making him uncomfortable?  
He took a breath.

“Uh, Spock, I don’t know how to tell you this, but this is a little unnerving...”

Spock arched an eyebrow. “Does dancing with a Vulcan unnerve you doctor, or is it simply being in such close proximity to me that is causing your distress?”

“Uh no, well umm..yeah, but I...” He looked away, suddenly quite embarrassed. “I can feel your...um...heart beating.”

Spock stopped and looked directly ahead. “I see.”

_Nailed it._

He watched Spock regulate his breathing and he felt Spock’s heart slow its beat. It really was a marvel of Vulcan self control.  
To the rest of the room it would have seemed like very little had happened. Spock’s face remained just as unperturbed and unmoving but Leonard knew that this loss of control would be a source of shame. Usually he was delighted when he got Spock to lower his guard but somehow right now he wasn’t feeling it.  
Spock finally looked at Leonard. Leonard was so prepared for Spock to tell him to get lost that he’d even taken his hands away pre-emptively.

“Since this hold seems to be making you uncomfortable doctor, maybe a different type of dance is in order.”

“Uh, yeah, maybe...” Oh, yeah, it was _him_ that was uncomfortable, sure.

“If we move closer, you may place both of your arms around my neck. If you wish, I will do the same at your waist.”

“Jesus Christ, Spock!” Okay, maybe he was the uncomfortable one.

“I see no evidence of Religious involvement here, doctor.”

“No...I mean, I’m not....we’re not doing that.”

“I do not understand your hesitation. It is the logical solution to your discomfort. Why will you not proceed?”

“Because I’m not a 15 year old girl, that’s why!” He said it a little loud; a few couples near to them stopped dancing to look.

Spock spoke quieter in response. “I do not understand what your age and sex have to do with your reluctance.”

“It’s a hold usually used for...when young people...”

“Is it a custom used only for human youth?”

“No.”

“Is there a reason that only females of your species may adopt this hold?”

“It’s half your species too.” Spock raised his eyebrows in a silent _really?_ “And of course not.”

“Then please explain your reticence, doctor.”

“I...”  
Was he going to have to spell it out for him?  
“It’s usually a dance for young...couples...who...are...uh...invol- okay fine.” Damned if he was going to have to explain this to Spock.

Spock placed both of his hands at Leonard’s waist and Leonard tentatively threaded his hands around Spock’s neck. As soon as he had, a loud wolf-whistle echoed through the room.

“And there it is.”

Leonard shot a glare at the source of the noise which was, unsurprisingly, a grinning Jim. He felt the rest of the room looking now, some openly, some secretively and some with polite disinterest.  
He went to pull away but Spock’s hands held him still. To his surprise, his own hands also remained where they were. He looked at Spock who seemed totally untroubled by this development. He glanced back to where Jim was now dancing with a smirking Chekov. They were still laughing at him but Leonard just raised his eyebrows before pointedly turning away. If Spock could shake it off so easily, so could he. Damn right, he was going dance harder than Spock, if anything. That’d show him.

He pressed far closer to Spock to dictate the direction of their next spin. They continued like this, Leonard seemingly in a war to see who could dance with whom harder and Spock a little confused but complying. Then at some point without him noticing it Spock had taken the lead again. They danced past what seemed like every member of the Enterprise but surprisingly Leonard found that it wasn’t as painful as he’d thought it’d be. Even more surprisingly Leonard found that he actually didn’t mind dancing with Spock. I mean, once you got over his textbook moves, and the fact that he was _Spock_ , it wasn’t a terrible experience.

They’d been dancing for so long when Spock finally broke the silence. Leonard hadn’t realised that his head had been resting on Spock’s chest until he spoke and Leonard felt the vibrations in his cheek. He jolted back and inadvertently crashed into Spock’s chin.

He saw Spock wince, his eyes closed for just a moment, and then he was fine again.

“Sorry. What did you say?” He had to bite back unreasonable laughter when Spock hesitated reproachfully before repeating himself.

“I was attempting conversation doctor. I asked you whether you had found the rest of this diplomatic trip enjoyable.”

“You mean the...the dancing?”

“That, or the conversation I witnessed you having after I had left the bar.”

“Oh right. Yes, yes of course. The...yes, yeah it was....great.”

“Good.”

“Yeah.”

A new slightly uncomfortable silence descended. Leonard couldn’t help a twinge of embarrassment when thinking of the little nap he just took on his co-worker’s chest. He suspected that Spock too was thinking about it, even though he’d never say anything of the sort of course. To combat further thought on the subject, he decided, reluctantly, that more small-talk was probably in order.

“So, do you like...Teffrine?” Oh yeah great question.

“I am indifferent to the landscape, other than feeling mild discomfort at its cold weather.”  
Really broke the ice there.

“I mean the Teflars...do you like them?”

“I find their emphasis on both tradition and inclusivity of commentary to be confusing and inefficient.”

“I kind of like that.”

“Of course you do.”

“Well you didn’t seem to mind that inclusivity of commentary when you stole my congratulations!”

Spock’s eyebrow’s contracted in the biggest movement Leonard had seen on his face all evening.

“I beg your pardon, doctor?”

“You know what I mean, Spock. Jim says something wrong so I come over to correct him, but you just had to be there first, didn’t you? And you didn’t even get scolded.”  
He hadn’t realised he’d even been thinking about it, but it actually felt kind of good to get that out there.  
Spock’s tone didn’t suggest that he felt the same.

“I am sorry that my lack of reprimand seems to have offended you. I did indeed hear the captain misinforming his compatriots. Naturally I stepped in to ensure that there was no miscommunication. I was unsure that you could hear him, given the limited nature of your senses. I had assumed that you would have wished that outcome, considering the topic was your own medical innovation. I was simply trying to avoid the spread of bad information.”  
A slight green started to creep into his otherwise pale cheeks now.  
“I was prepared to tell this to you earlier but you left the gathering rather quickly. And when we conversed at the bar I was unsure of how to broach the topic.”

“Oh.”  
Silence fell again but this time was welcomed by both.

Leonard felt like an ass. He’d spent the night resenting that moment. He’d even just then berated Spock about it, when in actuality Spock was trying to do something nice for him. Leonard couldn’t stop staring around the room, though he didn’t actually take any of it in. He supposed he was still reeling from the fact that _Spock_ had tried to do something nice for him.

Suddenly the intrusion on the conversation and the gaze at his back made sense. Even Spock at the bar made sense. It wasn’t Spock trying to tease or belittle him. No, that he could handle. It was Spock trying his version of pleasant.  
And Leonard had knocked him back.

His breath was getting louder, he could feel himself letting out loud, bored puffs of air; anything to add some noise to the suddenly unbearably thick quiet. This silence had to end, if it didn’t he might even start whistling soon.

As soon as he had the thought he felt a tap at his shoulder. He turned his head and saw Uhura. She was standing still, looking at them. For a second Leonard had the absurd thought that she wanted to cut in. He was about to thank her before he caught her pointed glance to the rest of the room.

The rest of the room was motionless. They were in fact, the only pair still moving.  
Panicked, he looked at Spock, whose eyes were staring straight ahead. He seemed oblivious to the room. Leonard coughed to get his attention but it didn’t help. He tried pulling away but Spock’s hands still gripped him. He was at a very anxious loss.  
He didn’t know what made him do it, but he found his thumbs, his hands still around Spock’s neck, lightly touching the tips of those pointy ears.  
Spock immediately came out of his reverie. He looked taken aback and stared questioningly at Leonard. In response Leonard coughed and jerked his head to indicate the surrounding room. Spock’s expression became totally unreadable with his realisation, but the green glow from before was well and truly back.  
He let Leonard go and stood to one side, nodding his head at the waiting crowd. Leonard was left startled, hands in air, holding a now imaginary Vulcan.  
At the other end of the room someone said something that Leonard couldn’t hear (or maybe wasn’t listening to). The crowd began to move and Leonard let out an unintentional

“What?!”

Simultaneously Spock and Uhura, one on either side of him, explained.

“The evening meal is about to begin.”

Even as he was saying it Spock’s brow furrowed slightly.

“Lieutenant Uhura, has there been some change in the schedule?”

“No.”

“I am afraid you must be mistaken Lieutenant. The dance was scheduled to last one hour and fifty minutes.”

Spock said it so matter-of-factly that Leonard had to raise his eyebrows at Uhura. This would probably be the first time since he’d met her that she’d got something wrong.  
Uhura gave them a look; one that suggested that neither of them were any more than five years old.

“I’m afraid there was no mistake, Commander. The dance _did_ last one hour and fifty minutes.” And with a sly smile she vanished.

The statement left Leonard feeling very indignant, but he wasn’t quite sure why.  
Shaking it off, he turned to say good dance, or whatever these occasions required you to say, to Spock. But where there used to be a Spock, there was now a distinct absence of Spock.  
Instead there seemed to be an endless number of Starfleet officers. As they all passed there was a crushing chorus of raised eyebrows, knowing looks and “I thought they hated each other” s.

Leonard decided that that was enough relaxing diplomacy for one evening. He instead traipsed back to the area where he’d beamed in.

Before he’d moved even two feet a certain very irritating best friend appeared at his shoulder.

“So how are you feeling?” Jim asked expectantly.

“Fine.” He could expect all he liked, he wasn’t going to get anything.

“How’s your headache?”

“Gone actually, I think the unbearable awkwardness made it forget that it was trying to kill me.”

“Ohh yeah.” Jim put his hand to his head as if he’d only just remembered something.  
“Awkwardness...I saw you dancing with Spock.”

“I heard.”

“You two make an excellent pair.”

“Ugh.”

“Bones and Spock sitting in a tree, k-i-”

“Shut up, Jim.”

“Ooh. Bones has got a boyfriend.”

“I do no-! No, I’m going to play your games.” Jim seemed to take that comment as a challenge and walked alongside Leonard softly chanting  
“Bones loves Spock, Bones loves Spo-ock-”

“DAMMIT JIM, I SAID SHUT UP!” He snapped.

Jim stopped immediately. He stood, looking at Leonard. His eyes were downcast and he looked so forlorn that Leonard felt bad. He shouldn’t have yelled, it wasn’t fair and Jim...was just being Jim.

“Look, Jim, I’m sorry.”

“Well yeah, it was a little uncalled for. After all...it’s not my fault that you love Spock!” He said the last words so quickly that it left Leonard puzzled for a moment. When he turned with a growl to retaliate he found that Jim had already joined the throng of people exiting the room.

Leonard called angrily for transportation and stood against the wall waiting. Loving Spock! It was ridiculous. Totally ridiculous. Love him? He didn’t even like the guy. Images of the night and the subject of his dislike started racing through his mind. Spock with his stupid trying to be nice and help Leonard correct people on his work. Ugh. Spock with his damn trying to make friendly conversation and apologising. No. Ridiculous. Spock trying to joke. Spock dancing. Spock’s hands on hi-no! Dancing for nearly two hours. The stupid, bloody, ridiculous green flush in his damn cheeks!

Leonard absently glanced to his right and saw a smiling figure. He turned to look properly and saw his reflection smiling at him...smiling. The reflection’s smile dropped and was replaced with a look of dawning realisation. A noise cracked through the air and the transport beam focused on the stunned man. He was swiftly beamed up, leaving behind him one solitary sound.

“Shit.”


End file.
